Miller Magazine Issue: 115 July 2019

When you compare Turkish seed companies with Western counterparts, what is the situa- tion? We can say that Turkish seed sector is very nov- ice when we compare with Western seed indus- try. Seed companies in the West have an average experience of 100 years. We have more than 800 companies in this sub sector and they have only 10 years of experience in average. Of course we have more experienced companies that were al- ready working on breeding. We can say that they have an experience of 20 years. Our companies are still in early development phase in terms of financial sourcing, human resources and genetic sources. But we have a younger workforce which may be a great potential. What are your expectations about the seed sector? Seed production has a significant importance. Oil companies or weapons industry were leading sectors in the past but things have changed. Software and seed industries are leading sectors today. There are strong developments in the globe about seeds. It is indeed, the fastest growing sector. This industry utiliz- es the cutting edge technology. Global seed trade has exceed 50 billion dollars. Turkish seed producers have also got involved in this trend and they have covered a lot of ground in the last 15 or 20 years. When we com- pare ourselves with Western seed producers, we are still in early development phase in terms of financial sourcing, human resources and genetic sources. But we have a younger workforce which may be a great potential. Turkey has also geostrategic advantage. We can transfer Western technologies and synthesize them with our own knowledge to develop new seed varieties to offer to the East as well as the Western markets. Our government is well aware of this oppor- tunity and encourage research and development with subsidies and resources. Of course, it is not enough yet. But we have already started. Ata Tohum plays in important role in R&D efforts and breeding projects. Are university researches helpful enough for the seed sector? Not at all. They are in a desperate situation. Now, we have 1067 registered varieties, both do- mestic and imported. The share of universities is just 8 per mille. This share is very low. University and private sector cooperation is also so weak. We have to change the curriculum. Newly gradu- ated engineers should be ready to meet the needs of the sector. Asia’s largest animal feed event For more information, please visit: www.victamasia.com BITEC Bangkok, Thailand 24 - 26 March, 2020 VICTAM ASIA is firmly established as the event dedicated to the animal feed processing industry within Asia. Co-located with VICTAM ASIA is GRAPAS ASIA, the event for the grain and rice processing industries. VIV Health & Nutrition, the event for feed, pharma & genetics in the animal protein production, will also be co-located with VICTAM Asia 2020. Victam Corporation T: +31 33 246 4404 E: expo@victam.com W: www.victaminternational.com See us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ or scan the QR code Supported by Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)